Voices Or Thunder?

On the Sabbath, it is a time of rest. It is also a time for us to minister one to another. How is it that we can do that? There are many ways, actually. There was a time when Yeshuah (Jesus) wanted to minister, that He called our to the Father to glorify Himself.

John 12:28 Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.
29 The people therefore, that stood by, and heard it, said that it thundered: others said, An angel spake to him.
30 Jesus answered and said, This voice came not because of me, but for your sakes.

We are also given direction on ministering to others. In the letter to the Ephesians, Paul instructed us to pray for others.

Ephesians 6:17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

Here we see that we are to deliberately make utterance (rhema) which is the sword of the Spirit. We are given further instruction that in this case, that utterance is to be prayer in the Spirit (sounds we do not understand) for all of the believers. Paul talked of this type of prayer to the Corinthians.

1 Corinthians 14:14 For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my understanding is unfruitful.
15 What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also: I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also.

Let us therefore on the Sabbath, and everyday, pray in the Spirit for all believers.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You alone are our King! Praise the name Yahuah! Your will in heaven, let it be here with us. Send us now Your overwhelming provision. Forgive us our trespasses and transgressions, and help us to forgive all those that have trespassed and transgressed against us. Cleanse completely our hearts and minds. Heal us from the inside out. Restore right relationships among us. Restore the years that have been eaten, and the substance, and all this one hundredfold, that all men might know that You alone are Yahuah our Elohim. We ask all these things in the name of the Messiah Yeshuah (Jesus). Amen.

Peace Is Ours

One of my favorite parts of the history of the Messiah is when He was crossing the waters with the disciples in the boat. The winds raged, the disciples feared (though Yeshuah (Jesus) had clearly said they were to go to the other side), and Yeshuah (Jesus) slept. What happens next surprised them all, but Him.

Mark 4:35 And the same day, when the even was come, he saith unto them, Let us pass over unto the other side.
36 And when they had sent away the multitude, they took him even as he was in the ship. And there were also with him other little ships.
37 And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full.
38 And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish?
39 And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.
40 And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?
41 And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?

It is interesting that the fear in them was reflected in their surroundings, and their surroundings allowed them to fear. They could not hold on to the words of the Messiah while the surroundings did not cooperate. And then we have the Messiah, and the peace within Him became reflected in the surroundings when He spoke to the surroundings. He believed that they would go to the other side.

Today, we can have that same peace within us. The Sabbath is a time of peace and reflection. Peace is ours.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You are our King! Praise the name Yahuah! Let Your will be with us as it is with You. Send us now Your overwhelming provision. Forgive us our trespasses and transgressions, and help us all to forgive those that have trespassed and transgressed against us. We need Your help to see others as You see them. Cleanse and heal our hearts and minds. Deliver us from the thief. Restore unto Your people prosperity in all good things that have been taken or held back in any way. Rise up, My King, and show us a sign for good that all men may know that You alone have done this. We ask all these things in the name of our Messiah Yeshuah (Jesus). Amen.

Given To Peace

Looking upon the human race I find myself pondering why it is that we are the way that we are. Often I have thought about why int eh world did Adam and Eve listen to the serpent instead of our Father? Adam and Eve were created sinless – without any transgression of the Law. They literally walked with God in the garden. And yet, they chose to not believe and act on what God told them and instead chose to believe and act on what the serpent told them. I want to come back to this point, because we do the same. Jesus (Yeshuah) redeemed us from the curse of the Law (NOT the Law itself). What did He do actually?

Romans 5:11 And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.
12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:
13 (For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law.

Sin is defined in scripture as transgression of the Law.

1 John 3:4 Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.
5 And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin.
6 Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him.
7 Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.
8 He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.

We see that sin is the transgression of the Law. Jesus (Yeshuah) was manifested to take away our transgressions of the Law, for in Him is no transgression of the Law. The devil transgressed the Law from the beginning, and the Son of God was manifested to destroy the works of the devil, the transgressions of the Law and causing others to do the same. By man transgression of the Law entered the world. That transgression became a part of man, and man passed that on to all men.

We now have the power to escape the transgression of the Law. Likely we will not do this perfectly. Therefore, we can turn again after we have transgressed the Law, and find forgiveness from our Father through His Son our Messiah, Yeshuah (Jesus).

This Sabbath day, let us rejoice in the knowledge that we receive mercy from our Father.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You are our King! Praise the name Yahuah! Let Your will be among us. Send us today Your overwhelming provision such that it overflows to those around us. Forgive us our trespasses, and help us all to forgive those that have trespassed against us. Cleanse and heal our minds and hearts. Restore unto Your people one hundredfold all that ahs been taken or held back in any way from Your people. We ask all these things in the name of our Messiah Yeshuah (Jesus). Amen.

Moon Over…

Recently there was a discussion among friends over the moon phases and what thaat means to us as believers. We know that the moon and sun are important because the scriptures say so from the very beginning.

Genesis 1:14 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:
15 And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.
16 And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.
17 And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth,
18 And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good.

Our discussion was about blowing the trumpet on the New Moon. The trumpet, the shofar, is meant to be blown for specific times in scripture.

Psalms 81:3 Blow up the trumpet in the new moon, in the time appointed, on our solemn feast day.

The issue comes with the translation of “in the time appointed” which some translations consider the full moon. I suggest the following reading:

http://www.servantsnews.com/sn0207/moon.htm

More importantly, it is good for us to search out the truth. We can get that ultimately only from our Father Yahuah (Lord). Perhaps that is by design?

Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You alone are King! Praise the name Yahuah! Let Your will be with us! Send us now Your overwhelming provision. Forgive us our transgressions, and help us all to forgive those that have transgressed against us. We need Your healing touch. Let our hearts and minds be cleansed. Restore unto Your people all that has been taken or held back in any way from Your people, and the more besides. We ask all these things in the name of our Messiah Yeshuah (Jesus). Amen.

Redirection

This morning as I consider our walk with our Father, it seems it is many times about redirection. We walk along, then maybe we drift to something we should not drift to in thoughts often and sometimes in our actions. But then, the Spirit has us consider His ways. We are redirected to return to His path.

John 14:26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

When we confess that we have transgressed, that is the first response to the awareness provided by the Spirit. Our Father never lets us down. He always is there, ready to help us find our way home.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You alone are King! Praise the name Yahuah! Let Your will be done among us. Send us now Your provision that we might seem a blessing to those with whom we interact. Forgive us our trespasses, and help us all to forgive those that have trespassed against us. Cleanse and heal our hearts and minds. Deliver us from the evil here. Restore unto Your people all good things that have been taken or held back in any way from your people, and that one hundredfold. We ask all these things in the name of our Messiah Yeshuah (Jesus). Amen.

Learning His Ways

Learning implies that there is something we do not already know. If this learning is about a way of life, then it also implies that as a result of learning we will change/modify our way of life. That is a part of what the Sabbath does for us as believers. We learn about our Father and His ways.

Psalms 103:6 The Lord executeth righteousness and judgment for all that are oppressed.
7 He made known his ways unto Moses, his acts unto the children of Israel.
8 The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.

On this Sabbath day, our prayer is to be like Moses and learn to know Yahuah’s (Lord’s) ways.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You are our King! Praise the name Yahuah! Let Your will be done in this earth. Send us now Your overwhelming provision, pressed down, shaken together, and running over. Forgive us our transgressions, and help us all to forgive those that have transgressed against us. Cleanse and heal our hearts and minds. Restore all good things that have been taken, delayed, or in any way constrained from Your people, and the more besides as in the day of the first Exodus. Let us be Your lights in the earth. We ask all these things in the name of our Messiah Yeshuah (Jesus). Amen.

Health, Rest, And The Sabbath

It is commonly thought that our bodies do better as humans when we have adequate rest. Equally important, however, is for our spiritual man to have rest. In fact, these two are connected according to scripture.

Isaiah 58:6 Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?
7 Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?
8 Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy rearward.be…: Heb. gather thee up
9 Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity;
10 And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday:
11 And the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.
12 And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in.
13 If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:
14 Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.

We see here that fasting also plays a role in the health of the physical man and the spiritual man. When we tie this to the Sabbath, we have health for both and the added benefit of blessing.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You are our King! Praise the name Yahuah! Let Your will be done among us. Send us now Your overwhelming provision. Forgive us our transgressions, and help us all to forgive the those that have transgressed against us. Cleanse our hearts and minds, and restore a right spirit within us. Restore us to right relationship with You, better than ever, and with our brothers and sisters. Raise us up to rise on the high places of the earth. fRestore one hundredfold all that has been taken or held back in any way from Your people that is good. We ask all these things in the name of our Messiah Yeshuah (Jesus). Amen.

Complete Rest

Recently my wife and I had a discussion about the Sabbath. It centered around the idea that no commerce was to take place on the Sabbath. In the scriptures they locked the gates of the city to keep the foreign vendors out.

Nehemiah 13:19 And it came to pass, that when the gates of Jerusalem began to be dark before the sabbath, I commanded that the gates should be shut, and charged that they should not be opened till after the sabbath: and some of my servants set I at the gates, that there should no burden be brought in on the sabbath day.
20 So the merchants and sellers of all kind of ware lodged without Jerusalem once or twice.
21 Then I testified against them, and said unto them, Why lodge ye about the wall? if ye do so again, I will lay hands on you. From that time forth came they no more on the sabbath.about: Heb. before
22 And I commanded the Levites that they should cleanse themselves, and that they should come and keep the gates, to sanctify the sabbath day. Remember me, O my God, concerning this also, and spare me according to the greatness of thy mercy.greatness: or, multitude

We have lost so much of our understanding of these things. It is difficult for me to try to sort out the right from the wrong regarding what is allowed on the Sabbath day. What we will do is continue to search out what our Father is doing, and try to put Him first.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You alone are our King! Praise the name Yahuah! Bless the name Yahuah! Let You will be done here. Send us now Your overwhelming provision. Forgive us our trespasses, and help us to forgive those that have trespassed against us. Heal our hearts and minds. Restore unto Your people all that has been taken or held back in any way that which is good. We ask all these things in the name of our Messiah Yeshuah (Jesus). Amen.

Psalms 92

A Psalm or Song for the sabbath day.
1 It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord, and to sing praises unto thy name, O most High:
2 To shew forth thy lovingkindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night,every…: Heb. in the nights
3 Upon an instrument of ten strings, and upon the psaltery; upon the harp with a solemn sound.the harp…: or, the solemn sound with the harpa solemn…: Heb. Higgaion
4 For thou, Lord, hast made me glad through thy work: I will triumph in the works of thy hands.
5 O Lord, how great are thy works! and thy thoughts are very deep.
6 A brutish man knoweth not; neither doth a fool understand this.
7 When the wicked spring as the grass, and when all the workers of iniquity do flourish; it is that they shall be destroyed for ever:
8 But thou, Lord, art most high for evermore.
9 For, lo, thine enemies, O Lord, for, lo, thine enemies shall perish; all the workers of iniquity shall be scattered.
10 But my horn shalt thou exalt like the horn of an unicorn: I shall be anointed with fresh oil.
11 Mine eye also shall see my desire on mine enemies, and mine ears shall hear my desire of the wicked that rise up against me.
12 The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
13 Those that be planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God.
14 They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing;flourishing: Heb. green
15 To shew that the Lord is upright: he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.

Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You are our King! Praise the name Yahuah! Let Your will be among us. Send us Your overwhelming provision. Forgive us our trespasses and help us all to forgive those that have trespassed against us. Heal our herats and minds, and cleanse them. Restore relationships to better than they ever were. Restore unto Your people one hundredfold all that has been taken or held back in any way from Your people of all that is good. We ask all these things in the name of our Messiah Yeshuah (Jesus). Amen.

Enjoying The Moment

For some, and certainly for me, getting caught up in worries and fret for the future is easy to do. But we are not called to that. We are called to focus on today, as my wife is prone to remind me.

Matthew 6:27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?
28 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:
29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?
31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

Today, let us praise our Father for today!

Prayer
Father, we exalt You. You alone are our King! Praise the name Yahuah! Let Your will be domne in this earth. Send us now Your overwhelming provision. Forgive us our trespasses, and help us all to forgive those that have trespassed against us. Heal our hearts and minds, and deliver us from the evil here. Restore unto Your people one hundredfold all that has been taken or held back that is good. We ask all these things in the name of oiur Messiah Yeshuah (Jesus). Amen.